I had the pleasure of going to the
Broadfield Stadium on 19th February 2012, to see Stoke
City versus Crawley Town in the FA Cup 5th Round. My
motivations for going were a) I have family
connections with Crawley, so wanted to go back and b)
I hadn't seen Stoke from a terrace in 11 years, so had
this romantic notion of it being a fun way of spending
an afternoon.

I had an easy drive around the M25 from
my home in Hertfordshire, arriving in Crawley for
the midday(!) kickoff at 10.30am. After
popping into Pease Pottage Services, I proceeded to
the ground. I was glad I had remembered the clear
instructions on the Football Ground Guide as I ignored
the turning for Broadfield and went along the A23
instead - the signpost for the stadium was only
visible after I had left the roundabout! About half a
mile off the motorway, I found a sign for free
matchday parking. This was in the Broadfield Business
Park, and seeing as it was adjacent to the ground, it
was an offer too good to miss. There was ample,
off-road parking for those arriving early, and this
was easy to get out from at the end of the day. Most
other cars seemed to be parked on the wide verges,
although this resulted in plenty of mud everywhere!

As I knew there was a pretty big Stoke
following for the match, I decided to enter the
stadium an hour before kick-off as I wanted to secure
a place at the front of the terrace. Entering the
ground at this stage was easy - there were no queues
and security was pretty light touch. The queues at the
small foodstall were also minimal. The staff behind
the counter were really friendly, and dealt pleasantly
with someone who kept sending his pies back because
they weren't warm enough!. Pricing of drinks and pies
was definitely not Premier League; I thought it looked
pretty reasonable.

I was stood on the side of the pitch in
what I thought was an excellent position. Shortly
before the game, however, a senior steward moved us
all off the walkway (clearly visible in the photos of
the ground) "as we had to keep a thoroughfare." I can
understand this, but it would have been nice to have
been told it when I first settled there. During the
game, some other Stoke fans were threatened with
ejection if they didn't get back behind the barrier.

As the ground began to fill up, there
was some pretty good banter between the two sets of
fans, although (inevitably) the distance between the
two bodies of supporters and relative lack of
numbers was too great to make this quite as
exciting as I would have hoped. I am sure that the
proposed full-size East Stand will improve the
atmosphere for big games.

The match itself had banana-skin written
all over it from a Potters' perspective, and the home
team put our goal under constant siege - curiously,
Stoke elected to choose to defend the away end in the
second half. Once Delap had been controversially sent
off in the 16th minute, Stoke were galvanised and went
on to win pretty comfortably. I don't think the ref,
Mike Oliver, will be on either manager's Christmas
card list, as he missed some absolute howlers from
either team as the game went on (including a
last-minute goal-line clearance with an elbow from a
Stoke defender!). The Crawley fans were very
appreciative of their team's efforts at the end of the
game and there were still plenty of fans left in the
ground when the last players had left the pitch. The
home fans mingled well with the Potters as we all left
the game and this was something we don't tend to get
in the Premiership!

Getting away from the ground was a
doddle - a five-minute walk back to the car and then
back on the open road in another five minutes. I had a
very easy drive back to Potters Bar, this time
continuing around the M25 anti-clockwise, so I have
done the whole motorway in one day!

Overall, it was a great day out. It
was good to get so close to the action, and if the
stadium can cope with a capacity crowd so easily, it
should be very straightforward on days with fewer
spectators. I imagine it will be a better atmosphere
altogether when the East Stand is completed.